Huck to Announce Presidential Decision Tomorrow?

Signs suggest the former Arkansas governor is not running.

Mark Hemingway

Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, will announce on Saturday whether he will run for president, the producer of his show on the Fox News Channel said Friday.

“Governor Huckabee will announce tomorrow night on his program whether or not he intends to explore a presidential bid,” Woody Fraser, the executive producer of “Huckabee” said in a statement. “He has not told anyone at FOX News Channel his decision.”

Senior political aides to Mr. Huckabee also said Friday they do not know what he will decide, raising suspicions that Mr. Huckabee will take a pass on another campaign.

I’ve heard nothing, which indicates to me he’s not running,” Mr. Rollins said in an interview.

If Mr. Huckabee formally says he’s a no-go, his absence will reshape the still-chaotic campaign for the Republican nomination. He leads or is near the top of virtually every poll of Republican primary voters, and would have been the presumptive front runner in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, which he won in 2008. Without him, a large Evangelical contingent – plus voters drawn to his easy-going personality – will be up for grabs in the Hawkeye State and beyond.

If the former Arkansas governor is not running that could make things very interesting. Romney was likely considering bypassing Iowa to go straight to New Hampshire, but he might reconsider now. Not having Huckabee in the race might also make things easier for a candidate like Mitch Daniels that wants to downplay social issues a bit. And Pawlenty, who's been aggressively courting the religious vote, might be able to fill a vaccuum here.

Now who's going to be the first candidate to promise him the job of Health and Human Services Secretary in exchange for his support?